Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Letterpress Invitations -- sneak peek at the Bliss invitations!

My invitations arrived! I love Love LOVE them!!
I have to work quickly to finish my calligraphy and get them all out in the mail as soon as possible!! I used the letterpress method for my invitations when designing them with my stationer. I fell in love with the look of letterpress, it is so classic and exquisite. The thick cotton paper is so luxurious. The bold, strong font that writes the story of our wedding day and the beautiful script that highlights our names combine to create the perfect invitation complemented by my delicate eyelet design.

I will include additional pictures of the whole invitation suite soon!

Here is a little more information about letterpress:

Letterpress printing is a term for the relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image. It was the normal form of printing text in the West from its invention by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century until the 19th century, and remained in wide use for books and other uses until the second half of the 20th century. In addition to the direct impression of inked movable type onto paper or another receptive surface, the term letterpress can also refer to the direct impression of inked printmaking blocks such as photo-etched zinc "cuts" (plates), linoleum blocks, wood engravings, etc., using such a press (from Wikipedia)

Invented in the 1400's, letterpress is the oldest printing process on the planet. Letterpress began as printing for the masses; it was how people used to communicate with each other. It was how people once printed their books, their broadsides, their manuals, their pamphlets, their newspapers.

Letterpress isn't the easy way to print. Constant interaction is required between the pressperson and the printing press. It's worth it, because in the end, the final product is heavy with human warmth and uniqueness. The printers and the client are tied together to a craft tradition that longs to be practiced and preserved.

Watch this for how letterpress is created: Letterpress Documentary

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